"If in November Rosneft supposed that in 2005 output would amount to approximately 25 million tons of oil, now it is a company that will produce 78-79 million tons a year," he said, commenting on the company's situation after the purchase of Yuganskneftegaz in an interview in the Russian daily Kommersant published Monday.
"Objectively, it is a quite different asset," he continued. "For this reason, the earlier-planned scheme must be transformed."
This notwithstanding, the company's head noted also the "invariable components" in the earlier published scheme of the companies' merger. He said it is necessary to bring the state's block of shares of Gazprom to the controlling level and to liberalize the market of its shares on this basis. "To translate this plan into reality, either assets worth several billion dollars, or an analogous sum of money are needed."
"The most important is that the desire of the owner, the state, to carry out this operation is preserved," Mr. Bogdanchikov stressed. "The owner will decide how to do it and within what time, and we will do it strictly in accordance with his orders."
He explained that the approval's delay is being caused by the purchase of Yuganskneftegaz. He also mentioned Rosneft's as-of-yet unapproved business plan.
"The plan, based on the old structure of Rosneft, was prepared back in November," Mr. Bogdanchikov said.
He believes that the consolidated business plan will be approved at a board of directors meeting in February. "When the assets of Rosneft and Gazprom become consolidated in one form or another, the business plan will be corrected, if necessary," Mr. Bogdanchikov said.
